2. Overview of the DOL Strategic Plan

Labor's Strategic Plan for FY 1999-2004 outlines DOL's mission, vision, departmental structure, three strategic goals, and attendant outcome and performance goals which support the Secretary's vision, facilitate increased coordination, and foster greater cohesion within the Department. Through these strategic goals, DOL staff and the American public can see a direct link between the Department's purpose, its activities, and vision for the future.

The Department formalized the Strategic and Performance Plan Workgroup as a standing committee in support of its Management Review Council, which oversees DOL's integrated strategic management and performance planning process. During the summer of 1998, the Workgroup revised the original FY 1997-2002 Strategic Plan to reflect the consolidation of strategic goals in the FY 1999 Performance Plan and to make a number of other enhancements. To shepherd and synchronize implementation activities and documents to comply with the Government Performance and Results Act, also known as GPRA and the Results Act, DOL then created a departmental GPRA Staff, housed in the Office of Budget. The Deputy Secretary also initiated biannual Program Reviews for the Management Review Council to review mid- and end-of-year progress towards current annual performance goals. In the summer of 1999, the DOL Strategic Plan was again revised primarily to reflect the programs and objectives of the Workforce Investment Act. This revised strategic plan covering FY 1999-2004 provides a framework for the Department's FY 2001 Annual Performance Plan and a blueprint for the Department's major program initiatives through FY 2004.

A summary of the major elements addressed in the Strategic Plan are provided below. These elements provide the foundation for Departmental activities in the years ahead and a context for this document, the FY 2001 Annual Performance Plan.

2.1 Mission

The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers' rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.

2.2 Vision

We will promote the economic well-being of workers and their families, help them share in the American dream through rising wages, pensions, health benefits and expanded economic opportunities, and foster safe and healthful workplaces that are free from discrimination.

2.3 DOL Strategic Goals

Through these strategic goals, DOL staff and the American public can see a direct link between the Department's mission and its activities:

A Prepared Workforce: Enhance opportunities for America's workforce
A Secure Workforce: Promote the economic security of workers and families
Quality Workplaces: Foster quality workplaces that are safe, healthy, and fair.

Associated with the each of these goals are specific programs designed to implement the Secretary of Labor's key priorities. These priorities are highlighted under the appropriate Strategic Goal in Section 4, FY 2001 Performance Goals, Strategies and Cross-Cutting Programs.

2.4 DOL Organization

The Department of Labor is organized into major program areas, each headed by an Assistant Secretary or Commissioner who administers the various statutes and programs for which the Department is responsible. These programs are carried out through a network of regional offices and a series of field, district, and area offices, as well as, in some cases, through local-level grantees and contractors. The agencies included in the Department's FY 2001 Performance Plan are as follows:

Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)
Women's Bureau (WB)
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
Office of the Inspector General (OIG)